Saturday, July 4, 2009

April 14, 2009

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah is set to conduct its first mobile registration for overseas absentee voting (OAV) in Saudi Arabia.

Consul Leo Tito Ausan, OAV head in the Western Region, said that his team will first conduct the mobile registration in the mountain city of Taif, an hour-and-a-half ride away from Jeddah.

He said the consulate has opted to hold mobile registrations because many Filipinos in far-flung places do not have the time and means to go to the consulate and register.

Ausan said he has coordinated with Filipino community leaders in Taif to help Filipinos register and become eligible voters in the 2010 Philippine elections.“Masaya ako at tuloy-tuloy na ito [I’m happy that this is finally happening]," he said.The OAV registration in Taif will be conducted on April 30 and May 1, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Al Shorouq International School. Ausan said almost 300 Filipinos have registered at the consulate since February.

The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, which has jurisdiction over the central and eastern regions of the kingdom, is said to be also working on proposals for out-of-town registrations, especially in the cities of Alkhobar, Dammam, Jubail and in Qassim province. - with Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV